Anthony Mundine

St George centre/five-eighth, the son of former Australian boxing champion Tony Mundine, represented the Junior Kangaroos that thrashed Great Britain U’19s in the curtain-raiser to the Australia v. France Test at P’matta Stadium in 1994. Such was his natural talent as a sportsman Mundine could have played basketball with the NBL had he not been offered a scholarship with St George. After securing the five-eighth spot with the Dragons, and with the Super League competition looming, he opted to train with C’bury in the early part of 1996. Forced to honour his contract with the Dragons while Super League lodged an appeal, Mundine showed his rashness by signing a contract with Brisbane in the week he celebrated his 21st birthday. This distraction did not stop him from producing a series of magnificent displays in St George’s run to the grand final in 1996, but he left the club following the 20-8 loss to Manly. Mundine was injured in the early part of 1997 and found it difficult to displace Darren Lockyer and Kevin Walters and claim the Broncos’ No.1 pivot spot. After failing to secure any of Super League’s rep honours, he returned to St George in 1998. Mundine’s statements provided consistent fodder for the media, claiming that Brisbane did not give him the respect he deserved as ‘The Man’, and publicly berating NSW and ARL selectors for not choosing him in the rep teams. In 1998 he declared that he wanted to represent Australia in boxing at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, instituted a self-imposed a ‘sex ban’ in his training regime, converted to the religion of Islam, and fulfilled a one-man mission to bring home errant C’bury forward and boyhood friend Solomon Haumono from England. However, Mundine’s form at the beginning of 1999 confirmed his reputation as one of the most naturally gifted and creative players in the game. In the grand final that year, he masterminded St George’s 14-0 half-time lead but many blamed the try he bombed in the 50th minute, with two players unmarked outside him, as the turning point of the match. After the Dragons lost the grand final Mundine openly voiced his frustration with the game and walked out of the club early in the 2000 season. Turning to boxing, he made his debut as a professional middleweight boxer surrounded by incredible fanfare and hype. Within twelve months though, he captured the Australian and Pan-Pacific titles and, after a record of 11 straight wins, challenged World Champion Sven Ottke in Sweden in December 2001. Unfortunately, his preparation for the match was completely overshadowed by his anti-American comments in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks. A contrite Mundine apologised, but the bout was a buster when he was knocked out (his first professional loss). Rebuilding his career in 2002 he captured the vacant WBA Super Middleweight title the following year before losing it just as quickly. Biography, The Man (2000)